A diagnosis of epilepsy, or seizure disorder, in a child raises a host of questions and worries for parents. One prominent concern might be what effect, if any, epilepsy or recurrent seizures could have on a child’s learning and development.

Epilepsy Effects: Types of Seizures

Variables abound when it comes to seizures. Types of seizures can range from minor “staring spells” to the partial seizures often outgrown in benign rolandic epilepsy to what are called grand-mal episodes, which are more severe seizures that typically involve the entire body. And the variety of seizures can be caused by a wide range of underlying medical conditions.

Consequently, the long-term effects of seizures depend on the type of seizures a child has and how well the seizures can be controlled. “We refer to epilepsy as a medical disorder and not as a disease because there are so many causes,” says John M. Pellock, MD, professor of neurology, pediatrics and pharmacy and pharmaceutics, and chairman, division of child neurology at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond.

But even children with milder forms of epilepsy, such as absence seizures, in which children zone out for a short period of time, can experience problems with attention or processing information. For instance, if a child has ongoing staring spells that occur throughout the day, it can impact her ability to learn. “Having dozens of staring spells a day can be disruptive,” says Blaise Bourgeois, MD, director of division of epilepsy and clinical neurophysiology at Children’s Hospital Boston in Massachusetts.

For children who have serious forms of epilepsy such as infantile spasms, which are associated with very abnormal EEG (electroencephalogram) patterns, there can be a profound effect on development, says Dr. Pellock, even leading to a happy child no longer smiling.

Seizures and Epilepsy: What Lies Beneath

It’s not necessarily the seizure, but what causes the seizure, that can affect a child’s development.

Seizures can be triggered by a number of causes, including:

Genetic predisposition

Head trauma

High fever

Infection of the central nervous system (the brain and spinal cord)

Neurological problems

Medications

“Epilepsy itself, in most instances, does not affect ability to thrive,” says Dr. Bourgeois. Still, he adds, “Asking how seizures can affect children is akin to asking how they’ll do with a fever — the fever could be caused by a common cold or the Ebola virus. Seizures can occur in children who are otherwise perfectly normal, who will outgrow them and go on to college, or they can occur in children who have severe mental disabilities and may never sit or talk.”

Seizures and Epilepsy: Gaining Control

The seizure itself comes into play is if it is not controlled, either with medication or other treatments.

“If seizures are not controlled, especially if they are frequent and violent, they can injure the brain,” says Mohamad Mikati, MD, professor of pediatrics and neurobiology and chief, division of pediatric neurology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, N.C.

Besides medication, children who suffer seizures need support at school and at home. “It’s important to remember that these kids may need extra help,” says Pellock. “Even when seizures are controlled, there is evidence that they still have a higher incidence of difficulties learning and achieving.”

And with development-impairing conditions such as cerebral palsy or mental disabilities that trigger seizures, doctors say the goal is to try to get children to the level they were at before the seizures. “We want to control seizures to prevent further disability and get them over and above their status, whatever that is,” says Dr. Mikati.

Seizures and Epilepsy: Is There a Cure?

Strictly speaking, there is no “cure” for epilepsy although some children will often outgrow certain types, such as benign rolandic epilepsy syndromes.

“With benign epilepsy, there is no abnormality in the brain, and most children will outgrow seizures and go on to lead completely normal lives,” says Pellock. “About two-thirds of seizures can be controlled. It’s not a cure — you’re not changing long-term outcome, but you can prevent injuries.”

Epilepsy treatments to control seizures include:

Medication. “No medication makes epilepsy go away,” says Bourgeois. “They just suppress symptoms.” Some older medications had side effects such as sleepiness, inability to concentrate, and hyperactivity, says Pellock. But today there are more effective medications with fewer side effects available for children, such lamotrigine (Lamictal) and oxcarbazepine (Trileptal.)

Surgery. “The closest we have to a cure is surgery to remove the piece of the brain that is causing the seizures,” says Bourgeois. “It’s like removing the trigger from a bomb.”

Diet. A ketogenic diet, which is high in fat and low in carbohydrates, encourages the production of ketones. This chemical, for an unknown reason, can control seizures in some children.

Nerve stimulation. In this treatment, the long vagus nerve, which starts in the brainstem, is electronically stimulated via a battery installed just under the skin; this is typically an out-patient procedure.

Your child’s type of epileptic syndrome and response to treatment will affect her individual outcome. As research continues into the management of seizures, parents can do their part by working with doctors to determine the root of the seizures and then help control their child’s symptoms.